Hello everyone.
It's Queen's Park Rangers away today and, rather surprisingly, there's a lot of anxiety on the Arsenal's fans side. I cannot quite get it: yes, QPR are fighting not to go down, yes, they have some quality players like Austin and Vargas, but the team is, after all, in the bottom three.
It is down to our recent results or, rather, result? Because, Monaco debacle apart, we are on a good run. Six wins in the league from the last seven games and 24 points in ten games. Only Liverpool garnered more: 26.
Personally, I think the most challenging moment (psychological) was left behind when we've beaten Everton. Of course everyone said post-Monaco that Champions League is Champions League, while we are doing fine in the BPL, but, as Arseblogger duly noted, you don't compartmentalise competitions like this. It doesn't work this way, your last game will always affect your next.
As such, I don't really see what there's to worry about. We'll have to work for the points, no doubt about that, but this game is hardly different to any of the previous ones. I even think there's room for rotation.
Team news update
The big news is that Aaron Ramsey is back and it seems he's back for good, with Wenger admitting Arsenal medical staff have found the cause of the problem.
Arsene also underlined the importance of Ramsey's qualities, saying:
“We’ve missed his energy level, his transitional play from offence to defence and from defence to attack and his box-to-box qualities."
I personally think Ramsey's return is massive. We really have missed him, because, as good as Cazorla did, the Spaniard is not a natural number 8. Ramsey is. It was a race between him and Wilshere and for now Aaron is in a better position.
While we are on the subject of Wilshere, Arsene also shed some light on the Englishman's situation:
"He’s doing well but it takes some time to heal the wound after the surgery. It will take him a few days.
I don’t set any dates, but what is for sure is that for Man United he will not be available."
Which is sad. As we've seen against Monaco, having a leader on the pitch can sometimes become absolutely vital, and in Wilshere we have a leader. The speediest of recoveries to him.
Finally, Flamini had suffered a set-back:
"Mathieu Flamini is not far away but not close enough. I think he will miss the next two games."
... while Coquelin should make it:
"We have to check Francis Coquelin with the medical people this morning in training to see whether he’ll be available or not, but there’s no obvious reason why he should not be available."
At which point all Arsenal fans regained the ability to breathe normally. How Francis has grown into an undroppable figure in two months is astonishing. Even Arsene admitted it (link):
“It is a surprise to everybody. The only thing I do is that I never say never to anybody. In my job you have to be open-minded like that. You have to make decisions at times. But never close the door completely for anybody.
He was not in my plans at the start of the season. I told him to give absolutely everything until Christmas, then we would see together where he was."
So there you have it. Much like everyone else, Arsene thought it was over for Francis at Arsenal. And just like everyone else, he was wrong. You never know how life is going to turn out, eh? You can read the rest of the interview here.
Back to how we should shape up for the game, however.
The back four
With Wenger hinting Mertesacker needs a rest, while also stating he's happy with what Gabriel has shown so far, I'm pretty sure GADA will start his second game running. I'm fine with that, the Brazilian had a good outing against Everton, not the simplest of sides.
The other three should be Koscielny, Bellerin and Gibbs. With Bellerin it's pretty clear, Koscielny ought stay simply because playing Chambers alongside Gabriel is too great a risk, while Gibbs has played two games now. It'll look odd if Wenger drops him for the third, and this is the part where I sympathise with Monreal.
The Spaniard has done nothing wrong while Gibbs was out and about. In fact, he's been outstanding first as an emergency centre-back (a position completely new to him) and then at left-back. I couldn't believe my eyes when the Spaniard was dropped against Monaco. I let that pass because there must have been some underlying reason for the change, that I didn't see and patiently waited for Monreal to be reinstated for the Everton clash. However he wasn't, and again I found myself searching for an answer.
If it was up to me, I'd drop Gibbs in a heartbeat and wouldn't give it a second thought. During these two games he showed nothing that hints at him being better than Monreal. Moreover, Kieran's continued miscommunication with Koscielny on Sunday left Gabriel mopping up for the pair of them. Can't remember the last time Monreal had such problems with the Frenchman. And finally, I'm convinced Gibbs and Bellerin are too similar in that they like to go forward. One should stay back to cover for the other, something that didn't happen against Monaco, albeit was somewhat rectified against Everton. I say "somewhat" because it would have been better if Gibbs ventured forward and helped out an exhausted Sanchez, while Bellerin stayed back.
The midfield
Both Cazorla and Ozil need a rest in my opinion. Ozil less so, that's why I think he'll start, but Cazorla is second only to Mertesacker in minutes played this season. I think he played even more than Sanchez, if that's humanly possible. Rambo is the natural solution. I have a feeling the Welshman will start anyway, after being talked up by Wenger, so it's more a question of who will be dropped: Cazorla or Ozil. It's Santi for me. Coquelin in a mask should be the final piece of the jigsaw in midfield. I wonder whether Arsene is tempted to rest BOTH Ozil and Cazorla, introducing Rosicky and Ramsey respectively, though something tells me Arsene will be reluctant to drop an in-form Ozil.
The attack
If someone needs a rest even more than Cazorla and Mertesacker, it's Sanchez. The Chilean already looked knackered against Monaco and was a dead man walking on Sunday. He may say that he's ready, but the manager is here for a reason: he shuld know when to rest players. The players themselves are really bad at determining whether they need a breather or not (or the length of their injuries, for that matter). I still remember how Giroud (after Everton) and Ramsey (after Gala) stated they should be fit to play the next game. We all know what happened next.
But I'd keep the other two. With Walcott (hopefully) coming in for Sanchez, Giroud and Oxlade look the best options available down the centre and left respectively.
The verdict
“It is a big test and a welcome test as well because you know what you’ll get at Loftus Road. It’s a tight ground with a bit of a Highbury atmosphere, with people very close to the pitch and it will certainly be a very committed game. Let’s prepare mentally to be confronted with that kind of commitment and respond well to it.”
I think Arsene is overstating it a bit, but one thing is clear: there is no room for complacency. It's another PL game with all that entails. QPR look decent at home, it's their away record that keeps them in the relegation zone, so I'm expecting a tough game. However, if we combine the commitment we showed on Sunday with a little more fluency up top, it's a winnable game.
So come on you Gunners.
Back with a review.
Until then
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